


sins and sinners

by LovlieLittleLies



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Eating Disorders, F/M, I'm bad at tags, Lilo friendship, M/M, Possibly smut later on, Self-Harm, Uni AU, nouis friendship, they're all students
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-01-24 11:28:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1603502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovlieLittleLies/pseuds/LovlieLittleLies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis didn't sign up for this project by his own wishes. He did not sign up to work with someone else on this project. And he really, really, really did not sign up to work with an angel-like boy named Harry Styles on a project that could make or break his entire future career. </p><p>And, really, who the hell is Harry Styles anyway?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Partners.

 The shower is Louis’s favorite place on earth. He decided this many years ago when he had little sisters and the bathroom was the only place to get peace from the charmingly annoying girls. Even now, when he lives with his best friend in a small flat, the shower is a type of sanctuary he can’t find elsewhere. All he wants to do after a long day of classes and working is let the hot water consume him. Sometimes he wonders if he can stay there forever, but the water will soon go cold, so he’ll sigh deeply and get out. 

Considering how long today’s been, Louis is more than happy to melt into the warm water and just let his mind drift. He’s sitting on the floor of the shower with his head resting on his knees and his back up against the cold tile wall. This isn’t how he normally showers, but his feet are tired and he’s stressed. He’s thinking to himself how stupid it is that he can’t drink tea in the shower and contemplating trying it when there’s a tentative knock on the thin bathroom door. 

“Lou?” Niall’s voice calls faintly through the wood, and Louis can picture his exact expression and stance just from the way he sounds. “Are you feeling all right? You’ve been in there nearly an hour.” 

Louis loves Niall. Niall is great. The two hated each other for years when they were young, always competing with each other to be the loudest and get all the attention of their classmates. But then they had to sit beside each other in one class or another, and Niall shared his cookie with Louis, and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Louis thinks it might have something to do with the fact that they’ve both matured a bit, too. Niall is still a ball of energy, but there’s something about him that just instantly calms people’s nerves. Louis wouldn’t be where he is without Niall’s gentle coaxing. 

He reaches out of the shower to pause his music because he doesn’t feel like yelling. “I’ll be out soon.” He wants to add a sarcastic remark, but it’s not Niall’s fault he’s in such a bad mood. He shuts the water off and then wraps his body in a fluffy blue towel that Niall isn’t allowed to use because it’s Louis’s favorite. He’s drying his hair in the mirror when he hears shuffling and realizes Niall hasn’t left. With the towel wrapped securely around his waist, he pulls the door open. “What is it, Niall?” 

Niall lets out a little sigh and leans against the doorframe. He’s frowning at Louis as if he’s trying to read every fiber in his being. “You came home brooding, threw your stuff down, and didn’t even say hi to me. Don’t tell me nothing is wrong, I know it is. You always say hi to me after school.” 

Louis walks past him on his way down the hall to his room, and Niall follows. Louis thinks about how to phrase his problems as he tugs a pair of boxers on. “I’m sorry, Ni. I should’ve greeted you. I’m just stressed.” And he really does feel bad for worrying Niall, because his best friend is always there and always worrying about him and it’s ridiculously adorable. 

Niall flops back onto the bed, his blond hair falling into his eyes. As he pushes it away, Louis lays beside him and sighs loudly. “Why’re you so stressed?” He asks, wrapping an arm around the older boy. “This isn’t like that time you had a paper due in every class and stayed up for three days straight last year, is it?” 

Louis laughs a little at the memory and leans his head against Niall’s shoulder. Niall had been awake most of that time with him, begging him to sleep and making sure he was fully hydrated and fed. “It’s kind of like that. Basically, my teachers hate me.” He really doesn’t understand why he has to take the Human Studies class anyway, considering he wants a degree in journalism. But he really, really doesn’t understand why his Human Studies teacher and his Journalism teacher are married, or why they have two kids, or why they magically decided he was the best student to help them out with a little project. But this ‘little project’ could be the most important thing he ever does because big magazine editors will be looking at this, and it might just get him a good job in a few years. 

He tells Niall as much, and Niall hums sympathetically. He goes to make some tea and somehow comes back with Liam, who’s become a rather permanent fixture to the boys in the last two years. Louis loves Liam almost as much as he loves Niall. He doesn’t really understand why he always hates people in the beginning when they end up being his best friends, but his and Liam’s friendship started in quite the same way as his and Niall’s. He was in a class with Niall, and he’d started hanging out with them a few months after they started Uni. Liam was quieter and more responsible than Louis and Niall, but he always had a big smile and interesting story to tell. The other two boys had adopted him as their best friend, and now the three were closer than Louis ever thought possible. 

Louis repeats his story to Liam, adding in a dramatic bit about how ‘this whole world hates me, I swear, Liam!’ and they all settle in on the couch with countless blankets draped over their laps. There’s a movie on, but nobody’s paying attention to it. Louis doesn’t know how they manage to fit the three of them, five textbooks, and three notebook onto the small sofa, but they’ve spent many nights like this and they’ve got it down to a science now. 

After a while, Liam puts his books away and rests his head on Louis’s shoulder, his hand running through Louis’s hair. Louis wants to stay up, but he’s so exhausted and Niall and Liam always soothe him, so he falls asleep before he even thinks about it. 

*&~&~&~&~&* 

Louis wakes up the next morning to Liam yelling about being late. He’s in his own bed, curled up in the blankets and holding his pillow tight. He hears Niall soothing Liam and tells himself to thank the two of them later. 

He hears a murmured goodbye, and then the door slams shut (because Liam uses too much force to do everything when he’s anxious). His eyes are just fluttering shut again when there’s a little laugh from his bedroom door. He looks up to see Niall smiling at him. “Hey, babes, time to get up.” 

Louis groans and rolls over to cover his ears with the pillow. Of course this won’t help because Niall will just come jump on him until he falls on the floor, but he doesn’t want to get up. And why should he have to? It’s a Saturday. Louis needs Saturdays for sleeping and partying and being lazy.

“Louis.” Niall warns, his voice floating to Louis’s ears from just a few feet away. “You’ve got to go. You promised you’d go to the meeting about the project today.” 

And, shit, Niall’s right. He has to go meet his teachers to talk about the project. A look at the clock tells him he only has an hour, so he gets up and heads to the shower. This one is nothing like yesterday’s because he has an actual objective other than turning his stress to steam and letting his brain float away. He gets dressed and yells goodbye to Niall as he leaves the flat. The drive there is uneventful, quick and easy like it always is, and he’s making his way to the classroom with twenty minutes to spare, a coffee in his hand. (He normally doesn’t drink coffee but it’s Saturday, damn it, and he’s tired.) 

When he gets to the classroom, his two teachers are there. Mrs. McKenzie is smiling at a boy, and Louis figures he must be the last of an early-morning class or something. But then her husband smiles at him and gestures to a seat at the small table right beside the boy. “Louis! Great, sit down, please.” 

Louis does as he says, eyeing the boy nervously. He’s probably a year or two younger than Louis, with bright green eyes and an even brighter smile. His dark curls are sticking out at random angles, but that just makes him look better. He gives Louis a shy little wave, and Louis takes a minute to stare bluntly at his biceps. He’s wearing a long sleeved grey shirt and black jeans that Louis swears he couldn’t get off with a crowbar because they’re so tight. And- god damn. This boy could be an angel. 

Louis manages to come to his senses a minute later and looks down at the table. He can’t let himself get distracted by this gorgeous boy. He is here for a reason, a very important reason. With a big breath, he looks up at his teachers and smiles politely. 

“Now, Louis,” Mr. McKenzie says to him from his seat across the table. “This is Harry Styles. He’s a freshman majoring in Phycology. He’ll be your partner on this project.” 

Louis thinks the noise he makes is kind of like a large cat choking on a bird. Of course, he wouldn’t really know because he’s never seen that happen, but that’s what comes to mind when he hears himself. And, really, what the hell? He didn’t sign up for this project by his own wishes. He did not sign up to work with someone else on this project. And he really, really, really did not sign up to work with an angel-like boy named Harry Styles on a project that could make or break his entire future career. He thinks he stutters something along the lines of ‘p-partner?’ but he’s not completely sure. 

Mrs. McKenzie smiles kindly at him and nods. She’s always been very nice, a short woman in her early forties. Louis can tell she used to be very pretty, because she’s pretty now, and she has laugh lines on her face, which Louis has always thought made her look even kinder. “Yes, partner. You two will be working together to complete this assignment, which will give you both extra credits in both Human Studies and your literature courses.” 

Her husband takes over the instruction from there, putting a hand on her back as he speaks, which Louis thinks is sweet because they clearly love each other and they’re not supposed to show it during school hours. “So, I bet you’re both wondering what this project really is.” He takes a big, overly dramatic breath in and grins. “A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to pick a student for a magazine article that will be featured in an upcoming volume of Sane Magazine. You two need to write a multiple page story on eating disorders and self-harm in teens and young adults.” 

Mrs. McKenzie nods at her husband’s words. “Yes. We need this done in the next two weeks, including your research and the final copy. I’m sure you can see why we chose the two of you for this. Louis, your writing skills are a necessity and Harry’s knowledge of mental health will help you along the way.” 

Louis is still trying to take this all in when she stops talking. An article that he writes will be in a magazine. A real magazine. And it’s on the mental health issues of teens, which he isn’t exactly unfamiliar with. Okay. Wow, yeah, okay. He can do this. 

The grin on Harry’s face matches Louis’s own. This is an honor, he knows it. To be chosen out of so many great students is something he probably won’t ever forget. He stands up and thanks them both immediately before being dismissed and practically skipping out of the classroom. He’s full of this happy energy, and he can’t remember why he was so tired this morning because he certainly isn’t tired right now. As he’s jumping around the hall from bench to bench, he hears a deep chuckle and turns around quickly. 

Harry’s standing there against the wall in what Louis can only think of as a super model position. He’s got his long legs out in front of him and a big, goofy grin on his face. “So, um. I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Harry.” 

Louis has to take a second to catch his breath again. Harry has a deep, rasping voice that’s almost better than anything Louis could have imagined. He looks so hot standing there with that nerdy little grin, but Louis only hates him for that. His mood is gone and he’s glaring at Harry. How dare some freshman look so good and distract Louis from his work? It must be illegal to look like Harry, Louis thinks, because it’s not fair. 

Louis takes a stiff little step towards Harry and holds his hand out. “I’m Louis Tomlinson.” He reminds himself to be calm when Harry grasps his hand tightly in one of his big hands, encasing Louis’s tiny one completely. ”How come I’ve never seen you before?” 

Harry’s smile falls a bit, and he looks uncomfortable. (Louis also thinks that is a sin. Harry’s too pretty to be uncomfortable.) “I, um, I’ve been in your Human Studies class all year.” When Louis frowns, Harry brightens up again. “But you probably haven’t noticed me! I always sit in the back!” 

And that makes for Sin Number Three, Louis says to himself. Harry looks so genuinely forgiving and sweet, and Louis thinks that’s more than unfair. It’s completely obnoxious. 

Harry’s still talking in that innocently sexy voice, so Louis tries to focus. “We should probably, like, exchange numbers, right?” (Sin Number Four: Harry sounds so shy.) “Um, so we can work out a schedule to meet up and work on the project?” 

Louis gives a little nod and takes a pen from his bag. Liam and Niall tease him about being so orderly, but it comes in handy to know where a pen is at all times. He takes Harry’s hand rather roughly and scribbles his number across Harry’s big palm. “Here. Text me when you know your schedule and we can work from there.” 

As he walks away, he feels slightly awful. He knows he’s not being very hospitable to this poor boy who’s obviously so kind and innocent, but he can’t help it. Nobody can just look like Harry and get away with it. 

His phone chimes before he’s even at his car, and he knows that must be Harry. But he doesn’t answer until after he gets home. His whole mind is buzzing, but he can’t think about the project. It’s all about sinsinsin, and the biggest sin of all: Harry Styles.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in so long. It's been literal years. Moving and getting wifi access at home next month, so this story is gonna become an actual thing, I promise. Woo!
> 
> All mistakes are my own, I write while listening to heartbreaking lyrics at high volume, and I appreciate anyone reading this. I promise it'll get more interesting *cough cough, and heartbreaking* soon.

“Gorgeous, Liam, I'm telling you! He's fucking beautiful! An angel or some shit," Louis yells, slinging his jacket across the back of a chair. He hears it fall on his way to the kitchen, and he sees Niall righting it with a heavy sigh. Louis is too busy sticking his head between the shelves of the refrigerator to care. "And anyway, he uses smiley faces when he types! After every word! Is he a thirteen year old girl? You can't- Ni, where the fuck is that pasta thing you made me the other day? You can't just give me a one word answer and an emoji!" 

Niall step forward to help Louis find what he's looking for and Louis props himself on the table while Niall gets it out and goes to heat it in the microwave. Liam comes into the kitchen to lean against the counter and watch while Niall prepares food for all three of them. Louis has already moved on to the cabinet beside the sink, digging around in the baskets of food. 

"Will it really kill you to work with another person, Louis?" Liam asks, pushing him over to get plates down for Niall. "He seems nice, you said so yourself, and you might need some help with this project. It sounds like it's big." Setting the plates beside Niall on the counter, he gives Louis a smile that's meant to make love-sick teenage girls fall to their knees. "Here's an idea, maybe you'll actually make a friend." 

Louis scoffs at the idea, throwing a majorly exaggerated eye roll in Liam's direction. "This is a big project, and that's exactly my point. What if he's terrible or something? He could sabotage this whole thing for me, and then where would I be?" He gives them time to answer while he pops the cap on a Coke and takes a long drink, but there's no noise from either boy. Louis takes a bit of offence at that. "Jobless, that's where! I'll be living with one of you for the rest of my life, wanking alone in the shower and sleeping on a golden bed of tears." 

Niall sets a plate in front of Louis, stepping away quickly to dodge the kiss that Louis tries to plant on his cheek. "First off, I don't think my wife would allow any of that. Second, you really never know. Maybe he'll be wonderful and you'll land the best position at whatever paper you decide to work with, and you'll be thanking your teachers. You said he's shy, right? Why don't you just try being nice to the poor kid?" There's a pointed look shot at Louis, but he misses it because he's too engrossed in consuming the food in front of him. 

"'S ot aht I aaid," Louis slurs through a mouthful of food. He swallows before continuing. "Honestly, you both should be able to tell what I'm saying by now. I said, that's not what I said. He's not shy, he's just..." And, really, how could Louis explain it? "He's eager to please. Very worried I won't like him. He was confident until I said I'd never seen him around, and then it was like it was his fault I've been ignorant."

Louis hasn't been able to get Harry's frown out of his head. Or the way he'd instantly tried to make amends on Louis's behalf. Everything Harry's ever said to him so far has been sweet, even the small text message conversation they carried out right after the meeting. Louis has a sinking feeling in his gut that he can't quite figure out, because Harry is sweet. And maybe that's why he's so anxious, actually. Underneath the forgiveness and immature typing habits, Harry seems shy. Breakable shy. Louis is a person who can coax anyone out of shyness and have them laughing within minutes, but he's never been good with delicate things. Harry looks like the delicate, breakable type of shy. He's the type of person who will go to all end to make everyone else happy and never say anything about his own bad feelings. Louis instantly decides that he does not, cannot, will not deal with that. 

*&~&~&~&~&*

Louis is laying on his bed when his phone dings. It's literally past his bed time, he knows that even before he pick up his phone and sees 4:02am come up on the screen. Okay, so maybe it's past bedtime and too god damn early to be up. "This better be really fucking important," he grumbles to himself as he opens a message from- who the fuck else would be awake at this ungodly hour?- Harry Styles. He groans when he reads the simple question.

Hey Louis, sorry if I woke you(: Would it be okay to move our meeting back an hour please? I can work it out if not(: but it would be great(: thank!(:

Louis is going to punch something. He really, really is. Harry woke him up before the sun to use his teenage text messages to reschedule their ‘meeting’ that isn’t for another fourteen hours. The four smiley faces he can count in that one text are all mocking him, each and every one taunting him with the daydream of continued sleep. 

He seriously considers telling Harry to fuck off and just cancel their meeting, but that would bring him farther away from having writing material. And it really isn’t Harry’s fault that he’s up at this hour. It’s probably something like rescuing puppies or feeding the homeless that has Harry awake enough to compose a text with actual words.

Louis sends a halfhearted 'sure fine see u then' and is asleep before he hears the swoop of the text being sent.

*&~&~&~&~&*

The place Harry told him they would meet at is on the wrong side of town. Louis grew up in a more poverty wrecked area, so it takes a lot to scare the crap out of him. That’s what this place is doing.

It’s easier to see why this is the place Harry picked once he gets inside. The little corner bookshop is filled to the brim with comfortable looking couches and chairs, and there’s a few students strewn about the tables with books in front of them. The lady behind the counter smiles at him as he passes to claim a seat on one of the nineteen-seventy era sofas. There are shelves of books lining every counter, and a desk with a coffee pot sitting in one corner. The place isn’t half bad, as long as you don’t think about the outside of the shop.

Harry comes straggling through the door nearly half an hour late, and Louis has to bite his tongue so he doesn’t say something impolite and/or dumb. The vintage door slams a little behind him, and he winces as he gives the entire room an apologetic look. His pretty curls are disheveled and forming a messy crown around his head, and his green eyes are blown wide. He’s frantic as he rushes over to Louis, shooting words out so quickly that five sentences seem slurred into one. 

“Harry, Harry, calm down,” Louis says, attempting to keep him quiet because now they’re earning scowls from the other people in the shop. “Really, it’s alright. I was running a bit late myself and just got here. Sit down, would you?”

Harry sits in the spot Louis gestures to, only a bit farther away than Louis meant. As in, Harry’s pressed up against one arm of the sofa and perched like he’s going to have to get up and run away at any second. “T-thanks,” he manages, giving Louis a sweet little smile that isn’t supposed to be sad but somehow makes Louis want to rip his heart out and hand it over to Harry right now. “I was just… I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be so late, I swear.”

Louis gives a little shrug and waves him off. “It’s only a few minutes. Chill, I’m not mad.” He slouches closer to Harry, trying to make it look casual and really wishing Harry didn’t look like he was about to topple over with the next breeze.

Harry nods a little, and Louis is relieved to see a deep breath run through his abdomen. He looks a lot better now that he isn’t so jumpy and remorseful. Harry leans in toward Louis just a bit, and Louis can’t help but to think he looks like a cat, all stretched out grace and skinny, lean limbs. Harry’s really just as beautiful as the day before when met, but he’s beautiful in the ways that someone just glancing at him wouldn’t anticipate. He has the tiniest of smiles on his lips, and his eyes show a gratefulness that scares Louis down to his core.

“Why are you so worried?” Louis asks, and almost takes his words back when Harry recoils. But he’s Louis, and he doesn’t watch his mouth ever, so he just continues. “What did you think was going to happen? It’s not like I could just leave, you’re my way of getting information for the project.”

Harry looks like he needs a good ten years to collect his thoughts, but he answers with a rapt speed. “I was just late.” Anyone else might have snapped and mimicked Louis’s sardonic tone, but Harry said it with all the hatred of baby rabbit. His eyes are a wide frenzy of panic when he looks at Louis again. “I was just late and I’m really sorry and it won’t happen again. I’ll help you with all the information you need anytime you want it.”

Louis nods a little, but he doesn’t give any sign of speech yet. Harry looks like a baby deer caught in headlights and left behind by its mother, so Louis just gives him a moment to calm down. If he cared about Harry as more than a kid who might be trying to sabotage his career, he might be alarmed. Harry’s trembling now and trying to hide it by sitting on his hands, and he won’t look at Louis, no matter how steady his voice is and how firm his gaze seems.

“Right. So,” Louis starts when he thinks they’ve both had a substantial amount of time to recover. “I was thinking we should work out a sort of system, like when to meet and who does what on certain days.” He has a speech lined up in his mind, but Harry interrupts. 

“I have a… list? Of facts about, um, the topics? And things I think we should at least cover in the article.” Harry reaches forward and pulls a few notebook pages stapled together from his bag. Only, when he hands it to Louis, it’s more than a few pages. It’s more like twenty. (How the hell did Harry even staple these all together? Louis wonders, but doesn’t ask.)

Louis nods a little and simply begins leafing through them. Harry’s quiet as he watches from his perch on the edge of the couch seat. He looks anxious, but Louis quickly comprehends that he has no reason to be. This is the most organized list he’s ever seen, and everything Harry’s written is so clearly thought out and planned. He either took extra care to write neatly, or he’s got the most perfect handwriting of any person in the entire world. (Louis is leaning toward the second one, but he isn’t sure why.) Harry’s planned out the things he really thinks they need to talk about, adding highlighted parts and little stars and notes for Louis and smiley faces in colored ink. He would honestly be content to read Harry’s jotted ideas and little facts and notes for the rest of his life, which is really impressive because Louis tends to bore easily. The next time Louis looks up, he’s got two paragraphs written in his mind, it’s been two hours, and Harry’s got his eyes closed, resting against the couch. 

Louis doesn’t miss the blue circles that become visible when Harry’s eyes are shut, or the way he sits rigidly even in his sleep. He makes a little noise and instantly jumps away when Louis nudges him, but he looks completely alert two seconds after he’s recovered. 

“This is really good, Harry. Thank you.” Louis uses what Liam calls his ‘grown up voice’, which basically just means he’s being sincere, and Harry flushes bright red. “I’ll totally be using these. And anything else you want to include just let me know. It’s getting a bit late, so we should probably be getting home.”

Harry looks stricken for a second, but he quickly rights it with an easy, lopsided grin. “Yeah, of course. I’m glad those will help you.” Harry stands up and slings his bag over his shoulder, tapping the paper on his way. He looks even more graceful as he rises to his full height. “I’ll text you and let you know when we should meet again, and you can call if you have any questions. Bye, Louis.” 

It takes Louis nearly a whole minute to figure out what just happened. Harry’s well and long gone when Louis packs his few things into his school bag and heads out to his car. He thinks about Harry the whole way home, the nervous behavior and the fatigue and the- what? The cool smile and easy goodbye, like nothing had happened before?- towards the end.   
By the time Louis is in his bed, he’s completely worked through the whiplash. Harry just had a bad night, so he was acting a bit strange. Louis decides that, yes, that is the truth and rolls over to go to bed. 

He changes his mind and reaches for his phone in the dark. When the screen lights up, he sees a message from Harry that must have come in when he was changing into pajamas. 

The text makes him take back everything he thought. He has no fucking clue about Harry or anything he does now. 

'Hope the notes really help. See you tomorrow in Human Studies. Goodnight(:'


End file.
